Enhanced Choice Model

**This is a non-CEU course**

What happens when you give learners full control over whether they participate in treatment? In this session, Hillary Laney gives a brief overview of the Enhanced Choice Model (ECM), an extension of skill-based treatment in which learners choose to opt in or out of practice at any time. She’s joined by Dithu Rajaraman, who conducted early ECM research with Dr. Greg Hanley, for an extended, wide-ranging Q&A. Together they discuss when ECM is the right fit, safety tactics to consider first, and how to handle the real-world challenges practitioners bring to the table.

What is covered

• The foundation of ECM: rapport, safety, happy/relaxed/engaged, televisability, and trauma-informed care
• The “yearn to earn” concept and why it matters
• Who may be a good candidate for ECM, and ECM elements you can use with any learner (practice indicators, opting out, choices, varied requests)
• How to run ECM: initial and secondary opt-ins, practice vs. hangout, when to re-offer practice, and debriefing with the learner
• Why hangout should look like practice, and what to consider if a learner never chooses practice
• Safety-promoting tactics to try before ECM: open-door analyses, waiting for happy/relaxed/engaged, performance-based decisions, finely task-analyzed CABs, and telling learners what to expect
• When reinforcing precursor behavior can build trust
• Q&A topics including group settings, analyses with no problem behavior, learners who prefer to be alone, caregiver and staff buy-in, how permissive is “too permissive,” and supporting learners with trauma histories

Meet the Hosts

Hillary Laney, BCBA, is a severe behavior consultant. A BCBA since 2015, she has implemented SBT since 2018 and now bases her practice entirely on it, overseeing implementations in schools, clinics, and homes with a focus on assent, dignity, and rapport. She is passionate about community-based learning and credits peer collaboration with shaping her own SBT practice.

Dithu Rajaraman, BCBA completed early research on the Enhanced Choice Model with Dr. Greg Hanley before moving to Baltimore, where he continues his work as a researcher and consultant.

Published July 2022